April News
Hello there,
I thought it was about time for a quick update. But first I’d like to share with you a topical song about April showers. A gorgeous little song, and inspiration for a positive outlook on the random April weather we’ve grown accustomed to. Although I bet Bambi never had to put up with April hail-stone showers like we do. Anyway, moving on…
It’s been a busy old time. I’ve started doing a course to improve my knowledge of singing and teaching, I want to know all there is to know! I’ve also started doing some work leading choirs for the wonderful Simply Singing, and as if that wasn’t enough I’ve begun teaching some one-to-one singing lessons in a high school as well. It is turning out to be a year of personal development and pushing myself forward!
As well as that, all the band stuff has still been going on…
The Beleza Band Is Here!
We had our first gig with the new 6-piece line-up of Beleza at The Chorlton Big Green Festival. The new band members are: Rory Duffy on flute, Justin Shearn on keyboard, Nicky Dupuy on double bass, and Holly Prest on percussion. The day got off to a slightly rocky start when we arrived to find that the PA system had blown up and they were taking it away as we brought our gear in. Luckily the festival managed to procure a replacement PA and get the show back on the road. Thanks to a very patient audience we had a great crowd to watch us, we put our best foot forward and all managed to remember what we were supposed to be doing. It was very exciting to finally get out there and do it, as we’d had the idea of getting a full band line-up for some time, but it had taken a while for it to all come together. It is also very exciting to be playing with such fantastic musicians, each bringing their own bit of magic and character to the music. We have some recordings in the pipeline, and we are on the case to find more gigs, so all being well you should be seeing more of us soon. One of our friends got some video at the gig which you can see on our facebook page. In the meantime you can catch me and Julian playing a few of our songs live on Cat’s Manchester Culture Show, North Manchester FM this Saturday. All details below
Diaspora
Diaspora is the Latin Jazz big band that I sing with. Recently our bandleader Rory has composed a number of new pieces for us, so if you’d like to come and check out our new stuff, we’ll be playing at the Prestwich Festival on Tuesday 8th May (full details below). This is a good one to catch us on, as it’s the full 11 piece line-up, which is a bit of a rare event these days. You can find out more about the band at http://www.facebook.com/diasporamusic
Riverman
Sadly Riverman is no more. It’s all good though, Chris Manley whose project it was is taking some time to get inspired and focus on his song writing, so I’m sure we’ll be hearing more from him in the future. We had some great gigs together, and Riverman gave my first opportunity to play my ukulele in front of an audience. Good times.
The Voice Collective
March saw us in the studio (read very cold church!) getting some more recordings done for what will one day be our album if all goes to plan. We’ve also had some exciting gigs. Recently we sang at the sparkly sports star studded benefit for England cricketer Mr Jimmy Anderson. Some of the more sporty members of TVC were pretty delighted about being in the same room as all those sporting greats, some of the less sporty members (like me) were very happy to be there, but none the wiser as to who most of the people were.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Voice-Collective/211730148848675
UPCOMING GIGS
Beleza duo live on Cat’s Manchester Culture Show
Saturday 28th April @1pm
Listen live at http://www.northmanchesterfm.org/listen-live.html
Diaspora at Prestwich Festival
St Mary’s Church, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1AN
7:30pm
££7.50 door / £6.00 advance -> email: white548@btinternet.com for advance tickets
Event page: https://www.lite.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/235543753201741/
As always, don’t forget to check my gig page website www.alyssrose.co.uk/gigs for to see when I’m playing, or you can “like” me on Faceache www.facebook.com/alyssrose
Thanks for reading,
Happy April!
Alyss x